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William Richard Thorpe, born on March 29, 1946, in Manchester, England, was an Australian singer-songwriter and record producer. He emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1955, settling in Brisbane. At age ten, Thorpe performed under the pseudonym Little Rock Allen and made regular television appearances. In 1963, he moved to Sydney and formed Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs with Colin Baigent, Val Jones, Vince Melouney, and John Watson. Their breakthrough hit was "Poison Ivy", a cover of The Rolling Stones' version, which peaked at Number 1 on local charts in 1964. The band achieved national success with hits like "Mashed Potato" and "Over the Rainbow". Thorpe & the Aztecs were signed to Albert Productions and had chart-topping singles such as "Sick and Tired" and "Baby, Hold Me Close". In the 1970s, they continued their success with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy", and performed at notable events like the Sunbury Pop Festivals. Thorpe relocated to America from 1976 to 1996, releasing the space opera album Children of the Sun in 1978, which peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Album chart. He returned to Australia in 1996 and continued performing and producing. Thorpe was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1991 and posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2007 for his contributions to music. He died on February 28, 2007, from a heart attack.
